JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced the results of a narcotics investigation Tuesday that led to the seizure of guns and drugs from a home on the Northside and the arrest of three men.
At briefing Tuesday, police said the investigation stemmed from citizen complaints of possible narcotic activity at a residence in the Talulah North Shore area of Jacksonville.
On June 17, a tactical team from the JSO narcotics unit executed a search warrant at that residence.
Investigators say they found 34 firearms in the home, seven of which had been reported stolen. The firearms varied in style and capacity and included rifles, shotguns, and multiple firearms with full-automatic capabilities. Police say all the firearms are currently being forensically examined for any crime associations.
Police say drugs were also found inside the residence including three ounces of MDMA or ecstasy, 8.5 ounces of powder cocaine, over 30 grams of fentanyl, 14.4 grams of crack cocaine, a trafficking amount of oxycodone, a trafficking amount of hydrocodone and a felony level quantity of marijuana.
Investigators say they also found evidence that the residence was being used to manufacture and distribute the guns. Digital scales, small plastic baggies, vacuum sealers and other drug paraphernalia were found in the home as well as a large amount of cash, a bulletproof vest and a metal safe.
One of the men arrested, Anthony Stevens Jr, is a convicted felon and was the primary target of this operation according to police. Stevens was arrested for multiple felonies including; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, trafficking of narcotics, felony possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and felony possession of paraphernalia for the manufacture or delivery of drugs.
Stevens was also arrested for child neglect, as investigators found a minor child in the house when detectives executed the search warrant.
"I've heard the argument that narcotics are only dangerous to those that use them and should not be a focus of law enforcement. This operation alone proves how that that theory is false. Gun violence is woven into the fabric of the illegal narcotics trade. Where there are drugs, there are crime guns. The contents of this house alone reflect that reality," Sheriff TK Waters of the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said.
"This agency will continue to locate and dismantle drug operations in Jacksonville. We do this not only to remove the poison that fuels addiction, but also to remove the accelerant which ignites gun violence in our community," Sheriff Waters said.
"That citizens complaint spearheaded the outcomes that I'm sharing today. Communication between the public and the police is at the heart of community policing. We simply cannot do the important work we do in law enforcement, without the involvement of the public that we serve," Waters said.
Three men arrested:
- Anthony Stevens, Jr.
- Damon Worrell
- Terry Brownlee